The Shed Unveils 24-25 Season Including Kenneth Branagh in KING LEAR & More

The Shed has revealed its 2024 – 25 season. Each play, exhibition, concert, and activation in this new season welcomes all audiences to The Shed to experience work by groundbreaking artists: Jean-Michel Basquiat, Ms. Boogie, Kenneth Branagh, Salvador Dalí, Keith Haring, Christo and Jeanne-Claude, Roy Lichtenstein, Tarell Alvin McCraney, and more. 

“I am thrilled to invite audiences to The Shed’s 2024 – 25 season. From Basquiat’s painted ferris wheel in the McCourt, to Branagh’s Lear in the Griffin Theater, to Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s Gates in our galleries, The Shed will be animated with appealing - even playful - works that take full advantage of the scale and flexibility of our extraordinary building,” said Meredith “Max” Hodges, The Shed’s CEO. “The season builds on The Shed’s broad commitments – to produce and welcome innovative art and ideas, across all forms of creativity, alongside civic programs that welcome and serve New Yorkers year-round.”

“This season we’re proud to present dynamic work across formats and disciplines, by best-in-class artists,” said Alex Poots, The Shed’s founding artistic director. “From visual arts, to music, and theater our programming is a showcase of the power of human creativity at the crossroads of artistic invention. This season’s program takes audiences on creative journeys that inspire, challenge, and bring people together in forward-thinking ways, in every corner of our flexible building.”

THE SHED’S 2024/2025 SEASON

The Breakdown Odyssey by Ms. Boogie

September 14, 2024
The Griffin Theater
Tickets on sale now

As previously announced, in an exclusive engagement, Brooklyn-based rapper Ms. Boogie presents a two-show, one-night-only performance of her debut album, The Breakdown. Live in The Shed’s Griffin Theater, Ms. Boogie will perform the album in totality. Alongside Minneapolis-based producer M. Jamison, Ms. Boogie debuts never-before-heard remixes and fresh takes for a full sonic experience of this transformative album that addresses the exclusion of Black trans women in hip hop culture and the world.

King Lear

October 26 – December 15, 2024
The Griffin Theater
Tickets on sale now
Special $25 front-row seats for patrons under the age of 30

As previously announced, Kenneth Branagh plays the title role in a new production of William Shakespeare’s King Lear, set in the barbarous landscape of Ancient Britain. Featuring a cast of rising stars from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and co-directed by Rob Ashford, Branagh, and Lucy Skilbeck, this production releases the play’s power and turmoil in a fast-paced staging.

In playing Lear, Branagh completes a trifecta of great Shakespearean tragic roles, complementing past appearances as Hamlet in his Academy Award–nominated film version of the play (1996) and on stage as Macbeth in a celebrated immersive production (2014). This strictly limited, exclusive US engagement of King Lear runs for 50 performances only.

Luna Luna: Forgotten Fantasy

Opens to the public November 20, 2024; The Shed’s 2024 Gala and Luna Luna first look, November 19, 2024
The McCourt, Level 2 Gallery, and Overlook
Member presale September 16; Tickets on sale to general public September 19

Continuing a Shed tradition of monumental works installed in our soaring McCourt space, Luna Luna brings a spectacular showcase of the world’s first art amusement park to The Shed. The brainchild of artist André Heller, Luna Luna first opened its fairground in 1987 in Hamburg, Germany. And then, by a twist of fate, the park’s treasures were forgotten in storage in Texas for 36 years. With a blockbuster showing in Los Angeles in December 2023, Luna Luna: Forgotten Fantasy resurrected these artworks, to audiences’ delight.

Luna Luna: Forgotten Fantasy invites visitors into a colorful, riotous fun house of carnival rides and attractions by visionary artists of the 20th century including Jean-Michel Basquiat, Arik Brauer, Salvador Dalí, Sonia Delaunay, Monika GilSing, Keith Haring, André Heller, David Hockney, Roy Lichtenstein, and Kenny Scharf. The multidisciplinary, multisensory experience will also feature special concerts and activations with performing artists to be announced.

Special Event: The Shed Gala, November 19, 2024
The Shed’s annual gala, a celebration of the 2024 – 25 season, takes place at The Shed on Tuesday, November 19. The evening invites guests to a magical evening of fabulous fare, special appearances by Shed artists, and the first look at the New York premiere of Luna Luna: Forgotten Fantasy. More information about purchasing gala tickets will be available later this fall.

Christo & Jeanne-Claude: The Gates and Unrealized Projects for New York City

February 12 – March 23, 2025
Level 4 Gallery
Free ticket availability to be announced

Christo and Jeanne-Claude: The Gates and Unrealized Projects for New York City commemorates the 20th anniversary of the landmark installation that transformed Central Park, drew over 4 million visitors, and inspired countless conversations about the power of public art. The exhibition will also showcase large-scale projects never realized by the artists in the city they called home. Together, all the works being presented, including drawings, collages, scale models, artifacts, and interactive media celebrate the artists’ enduring legacy.

The Brothers Size

February 18 – March 16, 2025
The Griffin Theater
Ticket on-sale dates to be announced

The Shed presents a powerful new staging of Academy Award-winning writer of Moonlight Tarell Alvin McCraney’s acclaimed play, The Brothers Size. This co-production with Los Angeles’s Geffen Playhouse marks the 20th anniversary of this groundbreaking work, which explores themes of brotherhood, resilience, and the complexities of the Black male experience. Directed by Bijan Sheibani and presented in the round in The Griffin Theater, this play invites audiences to witness the raw and intimate story of two brothers navigating life after incarceration, weaving into the storytelling the rich tradition of the Yoruba people of West Africa.

The Brothers Size is a modern-day fable about two brothers in the Deep South. Ogun, the elder brother, embodies hard work and reliability, while Oshoosi, formerly incarcerated, is seemingly carefree and unpredictable. Their relationship is tested when the charismatic Elegba arrives, tempting Oshoosi back to his old habits. As the brothers wrestle with loyalty, freedom, and duty, their humanity is revealed through a raw and heartfelt exploration of the bonds of brotherhood.

TICKETS/MEMBERSHIP

The best way to enjoy a season at the Shed is by joining membership today. Starting at just $10, we have a membership level for everyone to experience new, riveting art in New York City. Shed members are granted presale access, along with additional benefits, to all Shed programs. For the latest ticket and membership information, please visit theshed.org.